François-Xavier Lalanne

François-Xavier Lalanne measuring a Grand Rhinocéros V (Large rhinoceros V, cat. no. 2) in his workshop in Ury, France, September 16, 1991. Frederic Reglain/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

François-Xavier was born in Agen in southwestern France in 1927 and received a classical education at a Jesuit school that invested him with an abiding interest in history, philosophy, and classical languages. Starting in 1945 he trained as a painter and sculptor at the Académie Julian in Paris. He began exhibiting as a painter but soon switched to work primarily as a sculptor. In 1952 he met fellow artist Claude Dupeux, and they began working together. They married in 1962 and had their first joint solo show in Paris in 1964. They were taken up by influential gallerist Alexandre Iolas and exhibited frequently in gallery shows and museum exhibitions around the world. For the most part, they exhibited together and under one name, “Les Lalanne,” though each artist maintained his and her own distinctive practice. François-Xavier was known for crafting sculptures in the shape of animals that concealed hidden functions—a rhinoceros that opened into a desk, or a wooly sheep that could be used as a chair. He received many honors in his life, including being appointed Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur in 1974. François-Xavier passed away in 2008.